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The 39 Steps [1935]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

A high point of Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood career, 1935's The Thirty-Nine Steps is the first and best of three film versions of John Buchann's rather stiff novel. Robert Donat plays the rancher embroiled in a plot to steal British military secrets. He finds himself on the run; falsely accused of murder, while also pursuing the dastardly web of spies alluded to in the title. With a plot whose twists and turns match the hilly Scottish terrain in which much of the film is set, The Thirty-Nine Steps combines a breezy suavity with a palpable psychological tension. Hitchcock was already a master at conveying such tension through his cinematic methods, rather than relying just on situation or dialogue. Sometimes his ways of bringing the best out of his actors brought the worst out in himself. If the scene in which Donat is handcuffed to co-star Madeline Carroll has a certain edge, for instance, that's perhaps because the director mischievously cuffed them together in a rehearsal, then left them attached for a whole afternoon, pretending to have lost the key. The movie also introduces Hitchcock's favoured plot device, the "McGuffin" (here, the military secret), the unexplained device or "non-point" on which the movie turns. --David Stubbs

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

A high point of Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood career, 1935's The Thirty-Nine Steps is the first and best of three film versions of John Buchan's rather stiff novel. Robert Donat plays Richard Hannay, who becomes embroiled in a plot to steal military secrets. He finds himself on the run; falsely accused of murder, while also pursuing the dastardly web of spies alluded to in the title. With a plot whose twists and turns match the hilly Scottish terrain in which much of the film is set, The Thirty-Nine Steps combines a breezy suavity with a palpable psychological tension. Hitchcock was already a master at conveying such tension through his cinematic methods, rather than relying just on situation or dialogue. Sometimes his ways of bringing the best out of his actors brought the worst out in himself. If the scene in which Donat is handcuffed to co-star Madeline Carroll has a certain edge, for instance, that's perhaps because the director mischievously cuffed them together in a rehearsal, then left them attached for a whole afternoon, pretending to have lost the key. The movie also introduces Hitchcock's favoured plot device, the "McGuffin" (here, the military secret), the unexplained device or "non-point" on which the movie turns. --David Stubbs

Best British Hitchcock
Review date: 2008-08-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

Hitchcock always used to say that he saw no point in adapting an excellent book for one of his films because if a novel was so good, what could he do to improve upon it?

As a result, in the 80 years since it's release there must have been a lot of disappointed people who have bought John Buchan's book on the strength of this film. For all intents and puposes, Hitchcock's version has become the one that all the others are judged on.

Robert Donat is superb as Richard Hannay, a man who ends up on the run when a spy, whom he had only met that evening, ends up dead in his flat. Hannay ends up fleeing to Scotland, determined to pass on the message about the 39 steps.

Along the way he picks up Pamela, another superb turn from Madeleine Carroll, who initially does not believe his proclamations of innocence but soon realises that Hannay was indeed telling the truth.

The interplay between Donat and Carroll is superb and adds a frission to the flim that was missing in Hitchcock's previous film The Man Who Knew Too Much, and the period of the film that sees them handcuffed together must be one of the most memorable parts of the entire Hitchcock cannon.

Betrayal, and a lack of trush, is at the heart of the film. No-one, except the Crofter's wife, initially believes Hannay's story (and notice how the milkman when Hannay escapes from his flat only belives him when he starts to tell lies) and it perhaps fitting that Mr. Memory (a music hall act used by the spies) perishes simply because his professionalism means that he cannot refuse to answer a question.

A wonderful script, tight editing and some memorable characters make this the definitive version of the 39 Steps story AND perhaps the best film of Hitchcock's early British years.

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Reviews


The 86 Mintues
Review date: 2008-04-14 Rating: 6 out of 10

I was really looking forward to this movie since this Criterion dvd is rather costly and a rerelease with a flawless screening seemed like the perfect way to be introduced to this so-called Hitchcock classic. It's a real shame the film ends up being so damn twee.

The main problem is that the film is just too quaint. None of the bad guys feel like a real threat and are frequently fooled by Hanney's simple tricks, the stakes aren't exactly high and the MacGuffin is surely Hitchcock's lamest. The final scene in which a memory man (a pre-USB key device) recites a vital formula to no one of importance before dying is a dumb way to end the film. I was expecting some gripping set-piece like at the end of North By Northwest or Saboteur when the hero and villain went head to head at Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty. But a single shot fired at the London Palladium? Come on!

And what's the deal with that silly chase sequence over the moors of Scotland. The stupid speeded-up footage makes it look like a Benny Hill skit sans music. Plus there absolutely aint no atmosphere to speak of. The only thing that really amused me was the chemistry between Hannay and Pamela, but that came too late in the movie.

They also changed too much from the book. Pretty much all that's left is the name Richard Hannay and the words 'the 39 steps'. Take away those and it's something completely different from John Buchan's book.

A true adaptation would have been much better.

Very few Directors stand the test of time... HITCH is one.
Review date: 2008-01-01 Rating: 10 out of 10

Another CLASSIC (early).
It probably made his HOLLYWOOD transfer a reality.
Absolutely a piece of cinema history... what a great director he was!... and there is much more subtle things in one of his movies (including this one) then any five years of post 2000 Hollywood "movies"...
I know I sound old fashioned but is the awful truth... nowadays scripts understate the obvious in such a nauseabond manner it makes you sick...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

ADB

Hitch's most enjoyable British film
Review date: 2006-12-12 Rating: 10 out of 10

Hitchcock's The 39 Steps still holds up remarkably well - indeed, it's one of the few of his films that is consistently delightful, not least because of a great script that improves immensely on Buchan's racist novel and fills in the gaps between setpieces with equally good scenes filled with great dialog and memorable characters, from the milkman who aids Hannay's escape to John Laurie as the untrustworthy crofter and a luminous Peggy Ashcroft as his ill-suited wife. It also has a lovely feel for the unfriendly beauty of the Scottish landscape that gives the film a sense of scale and isolation lacking in most British films of its day.

Carlton's collector's edition boasts a fine transfer and a brief documentary on Hitchcock's British films as well a gallery of stills and production designs.

Great edition of wonderful film
Review date: 2006-11-27 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is the best I've seen from Hitchcocks British period. The plot has a lot of odd twists - some of them highly impropable. But it doesn't really matter - this is a film that should be enjoyed just for the ride. It is a movie that just sparkles.
Robert Donat I've never seen before but he seems to be an actor who instinctively knew what Hitch was after, and so suave, too, he beats Cary Grant!
This edition offers an extremely nice-looking print + some wonderful extras including a very informative documentary on Hitchcocks British films. At the present amazon bargain price you simply can't go wrong!

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Peggy Ashcroft
Lucie Mannheim
Madeleine Carroll
Godfrey Tearle
Robert Donat

Creators:
Robert Donat (Primary Contributor)
Madeleine Carroll (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: ITV DVD
Manufacturer: ITV DVD
EAN: 5037115013637
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Black & White, Full Screen, PAL,
Release date: 2001-08-13
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Universal, suitable for all
Region code: 2
Running time: 78 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1935-08-01
Language: English (Original Language)

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